Project Summary (Administrative/Enrichment) The Administrative/Program Enrichment Core is the administrative and outreach arm of the proposed UAB Nathan Shock Center focused on comparative energetics and aging. Under the direction of Drs. Steven Austad and David Allison, the Core will manage, coordinate, publicize, and integrate the diverse activities of the Center. Specifically, the Core will provide oversight, administrative support, and fiscal management for the Center. In that role, the Core will produce annual evaluations and reports of the Center's progress and in consultation with the Internal and External Advisory Committees make programmatic changes if warranted. The Core will also be the organizational unit responsible for promoting basic aging research at UAB and nationally. This will be accomplished via a monthly seminar series focused on current controversies and major advances in the field, journal clubs/work-in-progress sessions, an annual research symposium, the development of on-line and on-site education and training activities in subject areas relevant to the Center's research focus. The Administrative Core will also establish a communication network via a bi-weekly must- read e-bulletin, email, and the UAB NSC website keep Center users and potential users engaged and informed of Center activities, funding opportunities, as well as the availability of new techniques and methodologies developed by the research cores. The Administrative Core will also be the organizational unit responsible for providing researchers outside UAB with access to the services and programs available through the Shock Center. This Core will also be responsible for developing collaborative activities with the other Nathan Shock Centers. Given these roles and responsibilities, the specific aims of the UAB Shock Center of Excellence in Basic Aging Research can be summarized as: 1. To provide day-to-day administrative support and financial management for the Center; 2. To ensure the coordination and integration among cores; 3. To leverage institutional resources for the Center as well as promote the services and activities of each of the Research Cores; 4. To evaluate and enhance the impact of each of the Research Cores on the research community; 5. To provide conceptual leadership and innovative education, training, and outreach programs for the aging research community; 6. To coordinate meetings, reports, and implement recommendations of the Internal and External Advisory Committees.